Carbon
Profile of the Managed Forest Sector in Canada
in the 20th Century: Sink or Source?

Canada
contains 10% of global forests and has been one of the world’s
largest harvested wood products (HWP) producers. Therefore, Canada’s
managed forest sector, the managed forest area and HWP, has the potential
to significantly increase or reduce atmospheric greenhouse gases.
Using the most comprehensive carbon balance analysis to date, this
study shows Canada’s managed forest area and resulting HWP
were a sink of 7510 and 849 teragrams carbon (TgC), respectively,
in the period 1901–2010, exceeding Canada’s fossil fuel-based
emissions over this period (7333 TgC). If Canadian HWP were not produced
and used for residential construction, and instead more energy intensive
materials were used, there would have been an additional 790 TgC fossil
fuel-based emissions. Because the forest carbon increases in the 20th
century were mainly due to younger growing forests that resulted from
disturbances in the 19th century, and future increases in forest carbon
stocks appear uncertain, in coming decades most of the mitigation
contribution from Canadian forests will likely accrue from wood substitution
that reduces fossil fuel-based emissions and stores carbon, so long
as those forests are managed sustainably.